Showdown: K-kids At P'burg's Pit Tonight

February 08, 1992|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

A case can be made that, given the unique atmosphere attendant to Phillipsburg High School's fabled Pit, generating excitement there would be no problem even if school officials scheduled a tiddly winks competition.

Maybe.

This, however, is certain: the air will be charged with electricity tonight when The Pit denizens roll out their special brand of welcome mat for visiting defending East Penn Conference champion Northampton's crucial wrestling dual meet against the Stateliners. (If you don't have a ticket, stay home, unless you want to pay a scalper; it's a sellout.)

While it cannot yet be stated that the 1991-92 EPC championship is fully at stake, it is true that the winner could, at least, share the crown -- probably three ways.

In some quarters, the meet will be a battle between the No. 1 teams in the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Northampton (20-0) is ranked No. 1 (in Class 3A) in Pennsy. And, while the Newark Star Ledger places P'burg (13-1) No. 2 in Jersey behind Jefferson, the Trenton Times ranks it on top.

Both are unbeaten in the conference, the Konkrete Kids 9-0, the 'Liners 8-0. If the Kids win, they'll almost certainly win the title because they'll be prohibitive favorites over Whitehall in their finale Wednesday.

If the 'Liners win, there are no guarantees. Sure, they'll be heavy favorites over Central Catholic Monday. But they must finish their slate against arch-rival Easton Thursday at Lafayette's Kirby Field House.

The Red Rovers (13-2), at 8-1 in the EPC with a makeup match at Allen today (12 noon), are nipping at the heels of the two frontrunners.

Should P'burg beat both the Kids and the Rovers, it wins the EPC. Should it beat Northampton but lose to Easton, then the Kids, 'Liners and Rovers will undoubtedly have to settle for a three-way share of the crown.

As Northampton coach Don Rohn suggested last Saturday after a win over Allen, the showdown with P'burg looms as a war between "Cement Jobs" and cradles.

Northampton holds the patent on the former -- sort of a hybrid lateral drop, in which a K-Kid clamps a half nelson and body press on his foe while they're still standing and dumps him right to his back.

The cradle is a more common pinning combination, but what makes it a P'burg forte is that the 'Liners throw them on in a seemingly endless variety of ways -- and from any angle.

Given the likelihood that one team will win seven bouts and the other six, plus the potential for a few draws, it's reasonable to assume that the team that gets more bonus points out of its specialty will win.

Pick a winner? No thanks. But, to help you do it, we'll list some of the many matchups that could evolve. Nothing can be cast in stone, though, for reasons owing to both camps.

On P'burg's side is the hot rumor that 135 or 140-pounder Gerry Smith, who tore an ankle ligament last Wednesday, will be back -- well ahead of the original prognosis.

If true, and coupled with the fact that junior star Pat Coyle did return last Thursday, Stateliners' coach Rick Thompson could insert Smith (or Frank Clymer) at 135 (or 140) and drop Coyle to 130 and unbeaten (16-0-1) Scott Frinzi to 125.

Rohn, on the other hand, has a wild card up his sleeve named Frank Mazzocchi. Mazzocchi, who was at 125 early in the year and unable to crack the lineup, sweated down to 112 and bumped Mike Tomsic for the Kids' key matches against Easton and Nazareth -- and contributed crucial victories to both huge K-Kids' wins.

Rohn might do that again. But the hunch here is that the unbeaten (5-0-0) Mazzocchi will surface at 119, with everyone from regular 119-pounder A.J. Bucko through star 171-pounder Andy Doster jumping up a weight.

In so doing, the Kids would fill a big hole at 189. (Against Easton and Nazareth, Rohn threw a jayvee in at 135 and bumped 'em up from that point.)

Here's how they could line up, with Northampton wrestlers listed first:

Depending upon who wrestles whom once the tactical maneuvering (if any) is over, there could be any number of dandy individual matchups -- and, hence, matchups whose outcomes will be crucial to the final outcome.

One that appears certain is the Liberto-Poretta tiff; both are among the top 103-pounders in the area. Tomsic or Mazzocchi vs. Wardlow at 112 will be another.